Banks: British Business Bank

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the British business bank proposed by the Secretary of State for Business on 24 September will be allowed, under European Union rules, to lend or procure lending at below-market rates or on better terms to borrowers than are available from commercial banks.

Lord Sassoon: The Government will ensure that the British business bank operates consistently with any relevant European rules.

Children: International Law and Rights

Lord Stone of Blackheath: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Howell of Guildford (HL1730), and in the light of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office-funded report Children in Military Custody published in June 2012, what other work they have undertaken in the past 10 years to conduct evaluative analyses of law and practice as they affect children in countries or regions around the world by reference to the standards of international law and international children's rights.

Baroness Warsi: The report to which the noble Lord refers is the first of its kind. It has provided a thorough account of the well-being of children in military custody in Israel and the application of applicable law and practice. We will consider commissioning further reports and projects relating to children's rights and international law in the future.
	The Foreign and Commonwealth Office also works to protect the wider rights of children affected by conflict. We apply diplomatic pressure to governments to uphold children's rights in line with international standards and laws and take action against perpetrators of violence against children. We also fund projects to help children affected by armed conflict, for example providing £1.5 million to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) in 2010 to fund the rehabilitation and reintegration of former child soldiers in Sri Lanka, and in February 2010 the Department for International Development (DfID) Nepal provided £2 million to help discharge and rehabilitate members of the Maoist Army, approximately 3,000 of whom had been recruited as children. The UK is also a member of the UN Security Council working group on children and armed conflict, which leads the international response on this issue.

European External Action Service

Baroness Nicholson of Winterbourne: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Howell of Guildford on 13 July (WA 284-5), how they define the area of competence between member states and the European External Action Service (EEAS); and what areas they consider legitimate activity for the EEAS that do not intrude on the competence of member states.

Baroness Warsi: The primary role of the European External Action Service (EEAS) is to support the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy in fulfilling his/her mandate to conduct the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) of the union and to ensure the consistency of the union's external action as outlined, notably, in Articles 18, 21 and 27 of the Treaty of the European Union. The EEAS can only represent the European Union (EU) based on a position agreed through the common foreign and security policy or in accordance with other relevant treaty provisions. It is also required to work in co-operation with the diplomatic services of the member states. These principles are reflected in the UK's close co-operation with the EEAS on issues such as Iran and the western Balkans, as well as in the general arrangements for EU statements in multilateral organisations agreed in October 2011.

Finance: Gilt-edged Securities

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they survey the opinions of investors in gilt edge securities and whether they have assessed their reaction to falling gross domestic product and alternative fiscal policies.

Lord Sassoon: Ministers and officials maintain a regular dialogue with investors in gilt-edged securities.
	The credibility of the Government's fiscal consolidation plans has secured the market's confidence. When this Government came to office, the UK's long-term interest rates were close to those of Spain and Italy. Now they are among the lowest in the world.

Food: Self-sufficiency and Consumption

Lord McColl of Dulwich: To ask Her Majesty's Government how they calculate the levels of domestic food self-sufficiency and domestic food consumption; and what level of each was attained by the United Kingdom in each of the last 25 years.

Lord De Mauley: Self-sufficiency in food is calculated as UK food production (adjusted for trade in agricultural inputs of feed, seed and livestock) as a proportion of UK food consumption (as estimated by the total supply of food in the UK i.e. production plus imports less exports). All figures are calculated on the basis of their equivalent farm-gate value (by applying appropriate revaluation factors).
	A related measure is the proportion of UK consumption produced in the UK, which is calculated as food produced and consumed in the UK as a proportion of UK food consumption. As with the measure of self-sufficiency this is based on the farm-gate value of unprocessed food.
	Both the calculations for self-sufficiency and the proportion of UK consumption produced in the UK use the same data sources. Food production data are sourced from Defra's UK agricultural accounts. Import and export data are provided by HMRC. Revaluation factors are applied to trade data to convert the value of processed goods back to the farm-gate value of their raw ingredients, and these are constructed from Office for National Statistics input-output tables.
	The two calculations are similar but have two important differences. The main difference is that self-sufficiency includes food that the UK exports, which could have been consumed, whereas the proportion of UK consumption produced in the UK looks purely at the breakdown of food that the UK does actually consume. A further, much smaller, difference is the adjustment made to UK food production in the self-sufficiency calculation.
	
		
			 UK Self-Sufficiency in Food and Proportion of UK Consumption Produced in the UK 
			  Percentage   
			 Year Self-sufficiency in all food Self-sufficiency in indigenous food Proportion of UK consumption produced in the UK 
			 1987 73.7 85.7  
			 1988 71.1 82.6 66.3 
			 1989 74.8 86.9 66.8 
			 1990 73.6 85.0 66.2 
			 1991 75.3 86.7 66.5 
			 1992 73.9 85.1 64.2 
			 1993 73.5 85.4 63.3 
			 1994 73.5 86.1 62.7 
			 1995 73.8 86.7 61.8 
			 1996 70.0 83.2 59.9 
			 1997 68.2 81.6 57.5 
			 1998 67.3 81.5 55.8 
			 1999 67.6 81.6 56.6 
			 2000 66.8 80.3 56.4 
			 2001 62.7 75.1 55.7 
			 2002 62.5 75.5 53.9 
			 2003 63.6 76.7 53.4 
			 2004 62.5 75.1 53.3 
			 2005 60.1 73.1 50.6 
			 2006 59.0 72.0 49.2 
			 2007 60.0 73.1 50.8 
			 2008 59.9 72.7 51.6 
			 2009 58.4 71.8 49.7 
			 2010 61.1 75.1 50.5 
			 2011 62.9 77.7 51.8

Gambia

Lord Avebury: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they and the European Union have made representations to President Yahya Jammeh regarding the resumption of executions in Gambia.

Baroness Warsi: Since his speech on 19 August when President Jammeh pledged to begin executing death-row prisoners, the UK has made our opposition to the recent and sudden use of the death penalty in the Gambia very clear.
	On 25 August, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my honourable friend the Member for North East Bedfordshire (Mr Burt), issued a statement expressing concern over the then-unconfirmed reports of executions. Our high commissioner in Banjul has made several representations to the Government of the Gambia, including the Foreign Minister and the Attorney-General, on behalf of both the UK and the European Union, both before and after the executions were confirmed. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has also made representations to the Gambian High Commission in London.
	On 26 August, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Baroness Ashton, issued a statement condemning the executions and announcing that the EU would respond appropriately. On 12 September, acting as the local president of the EU, our high commissioner to the Gambia delivered a written statement outlining the EU's position to the Gambian Foreign Minister.

Olympic and Paralympic Games 2012: British Business Embassy

Baroness Nicholson of Winterbourne: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Minister of State for Trade and Investment will report to Parliament on his work at the British Business Embassy during the Olympics.

Lord Green of Hurstpierpoint: I will be more than happy to report to Parliament on the success of UK Trade and Investment's British Business Embassy programme during the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
	During the Games, along with over 40 of my ministerial colleagues (including my right honourable friend the Prime Minister, my right honourable friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer, my right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills and my right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs), I welcomed over 4,000 business leaders, global figures, hundreds of international buyers, investors and policy makers to the global investment conference and a series of global business summits (which I was personally involved in the support and planning for) as part of an 18-day programme running alongside of the Games. A series of 60 related seminars across the UK also took place.

Plastic Bags

Lord Judd: To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they are taking to bring policy and legislation on single-use plastic bags in England into line with policy and legislation in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

Lord De Mauley: We are monitoring developments in other parts of the UK, including the results from the introduction of the charging scheme in Wales, together with Northern Ireland's plan to launch a charge from April 2013. We are also interested in the outcome of the Scottish consultation on a charge.

Valuation Office: Appeals

Baroness Scott of Needham Market: To ask Her Majesty's Government what proportion of initial determinations on appeals against council tax banding by the Valuation Office is referred on to the Valuation Tribunal; and in what proportion of cases heard at the Valuation Tribunal is the Valuation Office ruling upheld.

Baroness Hanham: In the last full financial year 2011-12, the Valuation Tribunal listed 935 decisions, of which 237 (25%) were allowed and 698 (75%) were dismissed. In the first six months of 2012-13 there were 326 decisions, of which 91 (28%) were allowed and 235 (72%) were dismissed.